In the past few months, the drama surrounding Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and their movie It Ends With Us has been never-ending. After all, while their lawsuits are set to resolve in court, Lively and Baldoni haven’t shied away from going after each other with new evidence each time.
But as their legal dispute continues (their lawyers last met in court on Feb. 3), Lively is seemingly moving on from the drama and continuing on with her career. On Feb. 4, the premiere date for her next movie, the A Simple Favor sequel titled Another Simple Favor, was announced.
The long-awaited movie, starring Lively and original co-star Anna Kendrick, will be opening the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) on March 7.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be back at my favorite festival in the world where we successfully launched Bridesmaids and Spy, and I cannot begin to say how honored I am to have our film opening it all,” the movie’s director Paul Feig said in the announcement. “I’ve avoided making sequels to any of my films but these characters were just too much fun not to revisit.”
Plus, he confirmed Lively’s attendance at the event too. “So, to be able to have Anna, Blake, Henry [Golding], Andrew [Rannells], Michele [Morrone], Elizabeth [Perkins], Alex [Newell] and myself watch our film with the great SXSW audience is a bucket list event I’ll be able to check off March 7th and move playing drums for Dwight Yoakum’s band up to the top slot,” he continued.
A Simple Favor, from left: Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, 2018.
Before you start thinking that Lively’s new movie might be drama-free, however, think again. As a matter of fact, rumors of a feud between Lively and Kendrick have circled since the first installment.
Some internet users, for example, have long speculated that their on-set tension is why the sequel took so long to be released.
“BREAKING: Amazon shelves A Simple Favor 2 indefinitely,” one X user claimed in a since-deleted post. “Despite glowing test screenings, Blake Lively’s refusal to promote—amid her messy legal battle with Justin Baldoni—and growing tensions with Anna Kendrick have derailed the sequel. Anna is furious. Paul Feig is disappointed. Hollywood is in shock.”
At the time, Feig denied the rumors, saying on X, “This is total BS. Sorry. The movie is finished and coming out soon. Don’t believe anything you read on social media these days.”
So will Lively finally be moving on from the Baldoni feud? Yes. Will this following movie be drama-free? Unlikely!